Errol Spence Jr wins ‘fight of the year’ against Shawn Porter to claim WBC welterweight title
ERROL SPENCE JR beat Shawn Porter in a mammoth scrap to claim the WBC welterweight world title in what fans dubbed the "fight of the year".
The still unbeaten (26-0) American did not have it all his own way in Los Angeles and needed a split decision to unify the belts after crucially knocking his opponent down in the 11th.
The 29-year-old added the WBC to his IBF belt to boost his strap collection but Porter did not make it easy.
Both fighters came out at an astonishing pace with both men targeting the body early on as fans online knew they were in for a treat.
Porter is an awkward fighter and it soon became obvious he planned on a bulldozer approach as he tried to take the fight to Spence in the early rounds.
Spence capitalised on the gung-ho approach early on, picking the 31-year-old off with a couple of heavy punches.
But by round-three the contest had become a good old fashioned slog as both fighters were hurt but still standing.
The middle rounds belonged to the ever-advancing Porter as Spence backed off and frantically covered up under a hail of blows.
Spence beat Kell Brook to become world champion in Sheffield in 2017 and this experience shone through as the fight entered the latter stages.
The new double world champ rode out Porter's onslaught in the mid rounds and re-considered his approach which paid dividends in the eighth when he rocked the former two-belt world champ with a thundering body shot.
The pendulum swung again in the ninth as an astonishing round saw the fighters trade blows at close quarters with both recovering well from hard hitting shots.
And with the fight almost impossible to call, the defining moment came in the 11th.
A stunning left-hook from Spence rocked his opponent to the core and Porter sank to one knee.
Spence finished the fight on top but it was still anyone's call as the fighters nervously waited for the judges verdict.
Two of the three judges eventually scored 116-111 in Spence's favour while the remainder gave it to Porter 115-112.
After the fight both fighters credited the other for their part in a boxing classic.
Spence said: "Shawn Porter is a rough and awkward fighter. He made it real awkward for me and I looked kind of sloppy in there and didn't look how I wanted to look.
"That's a credit to Shawn Porter. He's a rough, rugged fighter."
And Porter returned the compliment to his younger counterpart and said: "He's a strong kid. We both came in here to do the job.
"He got the split decision. I take nothing away from him I knew it was going to be a dog fight.
"I think he knew it was going to be a dog fight. He was victorious and I congratulate him and his team."
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And on Twitter fans were loving what they'd just seen.
Complex tweeted: "One of the year's best fights," while another user added: "Errol Spence Jr had Shawn Porter looking drunk with that punch in the 11th."
Even Magic Johnson weighed in on the action and tweeted: "Shawn Porter versus Errol Spence Jr was one of the best fights I’ve seen in years. The fight game is back big time!! Spence Jr looked good in his victory over Porter. It was an exciting fight from round 1 to 12!"
